


from the beginning

by kireinayuta



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Blow Jobs, Come Eating, Come Swallowing, Cute Lee Jeno, Cute Na Jaemin, Face-Fucking, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Lee Jeno & Na Jaemin Are Best Friends, Lee Jeno is Whipped, M/M, Mentioned Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Mentioned Nakamoto Yuta, Mentioned Park Jisung (NCT), Mutual Pining, Neck Kissing, Nicknames, Pet Names, Roommates, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:07:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24160306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kireinayuta/pseuds/kireinayuta
Summary: Jeno and Jaemin are both equally as lazy, to the point where it takes a mutual agreement of sucking each other’s dicks to start cleaning up around the apartment.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 18
Kudos: 544





	from the beginning

"Jesus fucking Christ, you guys are disgusting." 

Realistically speaking, Renjun's words shouldn't matter to Jaemin. Because it's Renjun. And it's Jaemin. And Jaemin doesn't listen to Renjun, and Renjun doesn't listen to Jaemin. And that's just how it's always been. That’s their thing. Jaemin doesn't let Renjun get under his skin and vice versa. 

So Jaemin doesn't know why his left eyebrow twitches after hearing Renjun's statement, especially since it's something he's heard before. It wouldn't be the first time Renjun had called his shared living space disgusting. And he has a feeling it wouldn't be the last either. 

"It's Jeno's fault," Jaemin spits, boring holes into the back of his best friend's head, where he's sitting playing video games and not paying attention to the conversation he and Renjun are having. "Just sits on his ass all day," he adds, throwing a pillow at Jeno's head. 

There's a stain on the pillow, Jaemin notices after it bounces off of Jeno, and he hopes that the dirtied part is the part that hit Jeno. Was that something normal to wish upon your best friend? 

"I do more than that!" Jeno protests, barely batting an eye in their direction. His eyes are glued onto the game he's very invested in, and Renjun winces when he sees how many lights are flashing across the screen. "You're the one who does laundry every three weeks."

"That's disgusting, Jaemin," Renjun groans, proceeding with a gag. "Seriously, how do you guys let yourselves live like this?" 

"You get used to it," Jaemin shrugs, honest with his answer. He's not lying; he's used to seeing dirty dishes everywhere except the kitchen, used to the stains he finds on his clothes, used to the crumbs that litter the floors and carpets. Maybe he shouldn't be, as a twenty-one year old college student, but it is what it is at this point, and he didn't really find a reason to complain after putting up with it for the last two years. 

Jeno and Jaemin had only became roommates in their second year of college, deciding to try the single dorms first year. After quickly realizing that they spend way too much time together for it to be financially intelligent to live separately, they rented their own apartment near campus. Thus born their living conditions, which is heavily disapproved of by all their friends, and mostly Renjun. 

The issue was that he and Jeno were both really lazy. Lazy with a capital L. Things like chores and mundane house cleaning activities were never enjoyable to them, and there was never any motivation to complete the tasks. Agreeably, sometimes the crumbs in the couch cushions or the lack of bowls got irritating, but it wasn't too bad to the point where he or Jeno started cleaning or anything. They truly left things be until it was too late; not enough clean underwear, absolutely no silverware, discolouration on the carpet. 

Their friends say they're gross. Jeno and Jaemin like to simply say they're lazy. 

"You shouldn't be used to something like that," Renjun continues, looking disgusted. It's a reoccurring facial expression Jaemin sees on him; it's getting boring. 

"Last time I checked, you don't pay half the rent? I don't have to listen to you," Jaemin argues back childishly, sticking out his tongue for extra emphasis. 

Renjun wants to snip Jaemin's tongue off with a pair of scissors, but he keeps that thought to himself for the time being. 

"Right, well," Renjun sighs, wrinkling his nose when he catches the faint sniff of some... Odour. Renjun doesn't even want to try and guess what it is, so he quickly makes his way to where he left his shoes. "I will be leaving. I can't stand your swamp."

"Aw, you hear that Jen?" Jaemin calls over, clearly aware that Jeno was probably barely listening. "Jun called our lovely abode a swamp."

"Let him talk when he's paying rent," Jeno barks back, eyes still trained onto the screen of his monitor. He truly has no interest in the conversation (or was it an argument?) Jaemin was having with Renjun, already having heard the same things again and again countless times. 

Jeno also thought Renjun was annoying, but that was besides the point. 

"You guys really are soulmates," Renjun mutters, rolling his eyes as Jaemin holds the front door open for him. The air that wafts into the apartment shouldn't be as refreshing as it is. "Disgusting ones, at that."

Jaemin simply winks at Renjun as he leaves, locking the door behind him. 

"Hey," Jeno calls when he registers that the front door has closed. He has his gaming headphones off, and his monitor is displaying a scoreboard, meaning Jeno was finished playing his round. 

"What?" Jaemin asks, plopping down on the couch near when Jeno was sitting, flicking a small piece of potato chip off of the pillow and onto the floor. He meets Jeno's eyes after surveying that there were more pieces of chips than just the one he threw into the floor. 

"It is um... Kinda gross," he winces, taking in the all the mugs laying around; either half full with various liquids or empty with coffee staining the bottom. 

"I guess," Jaemin sighs, once again catching the stain on the pillow he had thrown at Jeno. He doesn't even have a clue towards what that could be. "Just didn't wanna say it in front of Renjun."

Jeno nods vigorously at that, as if the mere idea of letting Renjun know he's won an argument makes his skin crawl. And if Jaemin's being honest, he knows that it does in fact make Jeno's skin crawl more than the crumbs on his pillowcase do. 

Perhaps it's not normal to be adapted to so many crumbs in your bed, but hey, that's what happens when you live a certain way for two years. 

"God, we'd never hear the end of it," Jeno sighs, spinning around in his gaming chair. He stops when he's looking at Jaemin straight on, and he schools his facial expression into something serious. Well, as serious as Jeno can get in front of him. Years of friendship have made them way too comfortable around each other for anything to keep them in line. He guesses that's another reason why they live the way they do; too comfortable around each other to be ashamed of how lazy they are. "We should start cleaning."

Jaemin instantly scrunches up his nose at the proposition, shaking his head. 

"Don't want to."

"Dude," Jeno groans, hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He knew this wasn't going to be an easy conversation, but he didn't think Jaemin would make it harder than necessary. Then again, he should've seen this possibility coming, Jaemin always had a knack for drawing things out longer than they needed to be. "Do you think I want to? I just think it'd be nice to not tiptoe around our own home." 

"You know, I see where you're coming from," Jaemin hums, nodding his was. He leans forward a bit more, and also tries to look as serious as he can get in front of Jeno. "But I mean it. I don't want to clean. Like I don't have a reason to. You and I both don't mind this... Environment, so I don't really have a motivation." Jaemin finishes with a shrug. 

Jeno doesn't say anything after that, simply staring at Jaemin with a gaze that Jaemin felt like could see everything passing through his mind. He hopes it doesn't, there are truthfully some things that Jaemin keeps tucked into the corner of his mind for himself only. Everything would be a mess if Jeno has access to those thoughts. 

"I'll literally suck your dick if that means you'll do the dishes." 

It's the way Jeno remains deadpan that has Jaemin spluttering around his tongue. The way that his best friend can so nonchalantly mention something like sucking his dick, without an ounce of embarrassment or a trace of a flush on his face. Jeno was a wildcard, Jaemin knew that, but this was new territory. This was beyond what Jaemin could've imagined, seriously. Jeno never fails to surprise him, and this is the best example of that. 

"What the hell?" Jaemin all but shrieks, unable to meet Jeno's eyes. He knows that once he does, his face is going to turn as red as a tomato. Who just casually mentions sucking their best friend's dick? Who can just go on with the conversation normally after that? "Do you hear yourself?" 

"Jaem," Jeno starts, still as serious as he was when he initiated this conversation. It's starting to scare Jaemin, how serious he is about what he's saying, and it's so unlike Jeno he wonders if maybe he had hit his head this morning. Or if the Jeno sitting in front of him was some sort of imposter or something. "All I want you to do is like. The dishes and our laundry. I'll do everything else," Jeno explains. 

Jaemin wants to know where the dick sucking part comes into play. He doesn't have to wait too long, Jeno opening his mouth to speak a few seconds after. It's times like these where Jaemin seriously wonders if Jeno could read his mind, but he brushes that thought away when it dawns on him that Jeno would know a lot more if he were able to read Jaemin's mind. Like how he used Jeno's toothbrush once after throwing up because he was too delirious to register that it wasn't his. 

"If it takes me giving you head, I'll fucking do it," the older boy says defiantly, not one bit ashamed of what he just said. Jaemin guesses there isn't a reason for Jeno to feel ashamed around him, his best friend, but it's still fucking weird talking about Jeno sucking his dick out of the blue like this. Even weirder than Jeno suddenly suggesting they start cleaning. 

"I hate doing the dishes," Jaemin settles on, not really knowing what else to say. I mean, there isn't really a guide on what to say when your bro talks about giving you head, now is there? "And laundry." 

"Yeah but you like your dick sucked," Jeno argues, narrowly dodging the pillow Jaemin promptly throws at him. 

"Stop talking about that!" Jaemin yells, looking everywhere except Jeno. He can feel the heat crawling up his neck, and he wonders how Jeno's face has remained his natural skin tone all this while. 

"Well what else am I supposed to offer you to do chores?" Jeno whines, finally looking anything other than neutral. "I'm broke." 

"Dude," Jaemin groans, throwing his head back in exasperation. Or maybe it was so that Jaemin didn't have to look at Jeno, he doesn't want to think about it. "Just let it go? Do my homework or something if you really want me to do chores."

"Jaemin. I'm stupid," Jeno deadpans, looking at the younger boy with an unimpressed expression on his face. "It would make more sense for Jisung to do your homework, and he's a freshman." 

"Don't sass Jisung," Jaemin defends immediately, throwing Jeno a glare. What can he say, his soft spot for Jisung is as big as Jeno's irritation towards Renjun. So in turn, very big. "And then it looks like I'm not cleaning," he adds, tone victorious as a smile curls onto his lips. 

"I literally only have my mouth to offer, Jaemin," Jeno continues, adamant on settling into an agreement. Jaemin always knew he was stubborn, but he really wishes this conversation can end soon. He'd rather not go in circles. "Do you even know how good my head game is? Did Donghyuck ever tell you—"

"You gave Donghyuck head before?" Jaemin shrieks, cutting off whatever Jeno was going to say next. He's having trouble fathoming the fact that Donghyuck has let Jeno anywhere near his dick. 

"Yeah, and you wanna know the best part?" Jeno asks, and Jaemin doesn't know why he looks so smug, but he ignores it in favour of letting Jeno continue. "He was blackout drunk but he still remembered me sucking his dick the next morning. So honestly, your loss if you turn this down." 

Now, this is where Jaemin can be a sensible person, or give into his adolescent hormones. Would it really be his loss? Is he losing out on something so great? Or was Jeno hyping himself up so that Jaemin would agree into doing the two things he hates the most? 

Honestly, there wasn't much to lose if Jaemin agrees to Jeno's proposition. They're past the point of letting... Dick sucking, or whatever, interfere with their relationship. They've done other questionable things, that were probably worse than Jeno giving him head, in the grand scheme of things. 

But that didn't mean that Jaemin didn't think that it was still kind of... Weird? Was that the right word? Should Jeno even be offering such things for Jaemin to do chores, or should Jaemin just suck it up and agree to the dishes and laundry without any clause? 

The thing that's making him think though, is how much he fucking hates doing chores. It seems like something mundane but Jaemin hates chores so much, that he finds himself seriously considering Jeno's proposal. 

And he didn't think life could get more pathetic after some kid in junior year of high school dumped a smoothie on his head as a form of rejection. 

"I'll do the dishes every other day. Laundry once a week. That's all," Jaemin settles on saying, finally making eye contact with Jeno. "And you can... Suck my dick."

Jeno pumps a fist in the air, triumphant, and Jaemin thinks that there's nothing that makes sense about the scenario they've gotten themselves into. 

"Y'know," Jeno starts, getting up from his gaming chair. Jaemin only now notices that his monitor is off, as well as the lights from his keyboard. Jeno is holding the throw pillow that Jaemin had launched at him, and he's making his way over to Jaemin, who's sitting on the couch opposite of him. "I didn't think you'd agree this easily," he shrugs, tossing the pillow onto the couch Jaemin is sitting on. "When's the last time you got laid?" 

"Can we— Can we not talk about this?" Jaemin blubbers, wincing when Jeno sends him a smile he knows all too well. The smile he uses when he's determined to get something, when nothing will stop him from getting what he wants. And in this case: it was Jaemin's answer to the question. "Jeno, seriously." 

"I'm being serious too!" Jeno defends, tone sincere but gaze anything but. "What's gotten my little Nana so frustrated, hm?" 

Jaemin groans, more irritated than anything else. Jeno seriously knows how to, aggravatingly, push his buttons, and Jaemin hates how he lets Jeno get away with it. It's not Jaemin's fault that he's grown ridiculously fond of his best friend over the years, that's just what happens when you spend so much time with another person. It is Jeno's fault, however, that he uses this fondness to get what he wants. 

At the end of the day, Jaemin guesses he could blame a lot of stuff on Jeno if he thinks about it. 

"I'm gonna give you blue balls as repayment for vacuuming," Jaemin glares, elbowing Jeno in the ribs. The older boy doubles over, but Jaemin's victory is only short lived. 

"You're gonna repay me for cleaning?" Jeno asks, tone sounding a bit too smug. 

Truly, Jaemin loves his best friend. He'd do anything for Jeno, anything to keep a smile on his face. But he really knows how to make Jaemin want to smack him. 

"I thought that was self explanatory? You repay me, I repay you," Jaemin explain curtly, keeping calm in order to save himself potential embarrassment. He won't let Jeno have the upper hand in this conversation anymore. 

And anyway, it's not like Jaemin was lying. He really thought this was a two way street, that just made sense, didn't it? It wasn't fair if Jeno did chores without being... Compensated for them. Jeno was also horrendously lazy, and Jaemin's sure he doesn't actually want to start cleaning. Maybe it was just to get their friends off their backs, who knows. All he knows is that he agreed to Jeno's terms, and now his dick is gonna get sucked next time he does the dishes. 

And maybe he's gonna give Jeno blue balls the next time the vacuum is whipped out. 

Possibly. 

Maybe.

Jeno still hasn't answered Jaemin, so he doesn't really know for sure yet. 

"Is that how it is then?" He finally asks after what feels like hours, but was realistically probably only a few seconds. 

Jaemin answers before he can give himself time to think. 

"Yeah. Head for head. Blow for blow. That's the same thing, but— You get it, right?" 

Jeno snorts, looking at Jaemin amusedly. He gives the younger a once over before chuckling, shaking his head and getting up from the couch. 

"Yeah, don't worry dude, I get it."

❀ ❀ ❀

Jaemin didn't think that his downfall would seriously be a pile of dirty dishes sitting in a sink. 

Yet here he is, yellow rubber gloves on his hands, new and dry sponge in his grip, bottom lip caught between his teeth and Jeno's video game sounds blasting from the living room. 

He contemplatively looks at the stack in the sink, and wonders if he could go another day without having to wash the dishes. He thinks about it, seriously thinks about it, and internally groans when he remembers that he had to continuously pour his cereal into his mouth, followed by pouring milk directly from the carton into his mouth for breakfast. 

Perhaps having a clean bowl and a spoon would be helpful. 

It's honestly been a while since he's had on these stupid rubber gloves, the last time he's done the dishes was when he was still living with his parents. He always made Jeno do them after they moved in together, and even after that it was a rare occurrence; they eat a lot of takeout. 

It's offensive, basically, how full the sink is. He finds himself glaring at it before he realizes how stupid he must look. Thank God Jeno isn't around to laugh at him, because knowing Jeno, he totally would.

Jaemin lets out another sigh, he's lost count of how many have left his mouth since he's stepped into the kitchen, and starts plugging the empty side of the sink. Thankfully, their sink is somewhat big, so washing the bigger plates and pots shouldn't be a bigger hassle than it could've been. It doesn't mean Jaemin will enjoy this any more though. 

He knows how to do the dishes, he's not that terribly clueless. Jaemin adds three drops of their dish soap into the half filled sink water, frothing it around with his glove covered hand. The water suds up immediately, which only makes Jaemin more irritated. This was happening sooner than he'd like it to. 

There's a look of distaste on his face as he submerges all the dishes from the other side of the sink into the soapy water, and he's growing increasingly annoyed with every 'clank' he hears. Some may think he's overdramatic, but his hatred for dishes runs deeper than his laziness.

Although, his laziness does play a big part. 

Just as all the dishes have been transferred into the soapy water, Jaemin registers that the loud and blaring sounds of Jeno's video game have come to an end. Before he knows it, the older boy is walking into the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. Jaemin looks at him for a split second, and regrets it when he sees how smug the other looks. 

Jaemin kind of wants to hit him, but he doubts that would effective with the stupid rubber gloves he has on. Instead, he turns back, glaring at the dishes in the sink before begrudgingly picking up a plate. He uses the now wet sponge to lather the suds all over, trying his best to ignore Jeno's gaze on him. 

"What a sight," Jeno snorts after some more silence, making Jaemin turn around and glare at him. "What?" He asks, raising up an eyebrow. "I'm just taking in this historical moment." 

"You're so fucking annoying," Jaemin groans, scrubbing way too aggressively at a bowl right after. "Shut up and leave." 

"I'll stay, actually," Jeno says instead, walking deeper into the kitchen. He walks up to the counter next to Jaemin, and before the latter can tell him off again, he jumps onto the counter next to the sink. "Go on. Wash the dishes." 

"Are you being serious?" Jaemin practically yells, irritation bleeding out of every pore in his body. The great thing about being Jaemin's best friend for so long is that Jeno knows how annoyed he is at him. But hey, it isn't his fault Jaemin has agreed to wash the dishes. And plus, they live together, Jaemin can't expect Jeno to stay away from him. "Why are you like this?"

"I need to keep this momentous moment in my brain. I'm gonna call your mom later and tell her about this," Jeno says in all seriousness, earning Jaemin rapidly shaking his head. 

"Do not tell my mom, she thinks I've been doing this shit since I moved out," Jaemin frantically explains. His mom would give him the lecture of a lifetime if she found out how he's been living, and he'd rather not age ten years just by listening to his mom yap on and on about his living habits. He loves him mom, but her lectures could quite literally kill him if she spoke for long enough. 

"Then let me stay," Jeno grins, obviously acknowledging that he has the upper hand. Jeno and his mom have always been weirdly close, sometimes he'd find Jeno in his kitchen per his mom's invitation. It took a while to get used to, and he doesn't think much of it anymore, but it's these kinds of situations where he remembers that Jeno could ruin it all for Jaemin with a simple phone call. 

Is it too late to say he despises Jeno? 

"You're such a brat," Jaemin grumbles, not saying anything more as he just continues with the dishes. 

"You're the brat," Jeno scoffs, nudging Jaemin's hip with his foot. "Mister 'I'll only go the dishes if you suck my dick'." 

"I did not say that!" Jaemin protests, practically squawking with offense. And it's fair, he didn't say what Jeno has mocked him for, and there's no way that Jeno knew that he was thinking that. Unless he could. Jeno was scary. 

"Yeah, whatever you say," Jeno snorts, rolling his eyes. 

Silence washes over them after that, the only sounds heard being water sloshing around in the sink and Jaemin running the wet and soapy sponge over dishes and utensils. The quietness makes the clanking sounds excessively loud, and Jaemin can't help but cringe every time the spoons hit the plates too aggressively. 

"Loud?" Jeno mumbles after some time, taking notice to how Jaemin would scrunch up his face in distaste whenever bowls hit plates too hard. 

"Extremely," the younger sighs, finding that his irritation towards Jeno has simmered down now that they're having a regular conversation. "I hate the sound of glass on metal, glass on glass, glass on anything," he explains briefly, happily throwing the sponge down into the sink. 

He's finally done with washing the dishes, and now all he has to do is unplug the drain and rinse the suds off. 

"I didn't know that," Jeno says, watching as Jaemin turns the tap on. The water pours out in a gentle stream, and Jaemin runs the utensils under the water first. "You could've said it bothered you, I wouldn't have made you do the dishes. You could've instead dusted or something," he sighs. 

"It's not gonna kill me," Jaemin says, rolling his eyes at how dramatic Jeno was making this seem. Sure, it irked him to the ends of the Earth, but he's just being annoying about it. "It's fine." 

Jeno doesn't say anything after that, just continues to watch as his best friend runs all their dishes under water, and places them in the other side of the sink to dry. Jaemin is quick with how he works, probably because he didn't want to be doing this in the first place. Despite that though, he's thorough and makes sure their stuff is squeaky clean before setting them aside to dry. 

Jeno would say it was admirable if he were talking about something which wasn't as mundane as dishes. 

Jaemin finishes quick, happily taking off his rubber gloves. 

"Finished!" He cheers, mostly to himself. He forgets that Jeno is right next to him, only acknowledging him when he jumps off of the counter. 

"Only took you twenty minutes," Jeno notes. "Not bad for three day's worth of stuff." 

Jaemin hums, but leaves it at that as he makes his way out of the kitchen. 

Before he can get far though, Jeno is grabbing onto his wrist. 

"What?" Jaemin asks, back to looking at the older boy. 

Jeno initially looks a bit surprised by Jaemin's words, but that quickly disappears and is replaced by a look of smugness. 

"Forget already?" Jeno asks, and Jaemin can tell his tone is teasing. He can't quite put a finger on what he's teasing about yet, but then he watches as Jeno's eyes fleet down his body, and oh— 

He gets it now. 

A blush immediately makes its way onto his face, the reality of the agreement they made finally settling into him, now that it's happening. Jaemin makes the regrettable decision of looking at Jeno's face, only to see Jeno make his way closer to him. 

"Dude—" Jaemin tries to speak, but his breath gets caught in his throat when Jeno has him cornered against the counter. Jeno's two arms are on either side of him, and Jaemin feels trapped. He knows that realistically, he can easily get out of Jeno's confinements, but something makes him stay still in his place. 

Maybe it's the look in Jeno's eyes. Whatever it is, Jaemin doesn't want to talk about it. 

"Don't call me 'dude' when I'm about to suck your dick, Nana," Jeno smiles, hand coming up to teasingly pull at the drawstrings on Jaemin's sweatpants. "This is your reward, don't kill the mood." 

Jaemin doesn't even know when the mood had been created, but now that Jeno mentions it, Jaemin vaguely registers it. The air a bit thicker between them, the tension almost palpable. The way Jeno won't stop looking at his face, and the way Jaemin can't bring himself to look away either. 

It's different, when Jeno touches his hips this time, because it isn't in their usual fun and light manner. Physical contact isn't something taboo between them, Jaemin being overly affectionate and some of that having rubbed off onto Jeno after all the years they've spent together. 

But this time, when Jeno's two hands hold onto his hips, it’s hotter than when he does the exact same action to move him out of the way. 

This time, when Jeno brings his body closer to Jaemin's, his heart beats faster than when the older boy throws his body onto his after a long day. 

This time, when Jeno unties his drawstrings, it's more intimate than when he does the exact same action after Jaemin's had too much to drink. 

It's different, yet all slightly familiar. The touches send fire through his nerves, but it also spreads the familiar warmth to his fingertips. 

Touch with Jeno always been affectionate and warm, but now it's exciting and hot. 

"You're joking."

Jeno's light laugh brings Jaemin out of his never ending thoughts, and he follows to looks down at what Jeno is looking, and apparently laughing, at. Jaemin thought that the blush on his face couldn't get any darker, but then he sees what Jeno is laughing at and feels his face flush ten times warmer. 

"Shut up," Jaemin grumbles, looking away from his pink and yellow boxers. They have ducks on them, and Jaemin admits, he didn't have any business buying them when he's at the ripe age of twenty one, but the ducks are cute and he couldn't help himself. He also didn't think that anyone besides himself would be seeing them, so he wasn't ready prepared for Jeno to start laughing at the sight of his boxers. 

"No, they're cute," Jeno says, trying to will himself to stop giggling. 

"You're clearly making fun of me," Jaemin argues, unable to hide the little whine in his tone out of embarrassment. He didn't think someone else's first impression of his duck boxers would be to laugh at them, but then again he didn't really prepare himself for what someone else's reaction to his duck boxers would be. 

"I'm not," Jeno insists, finally successful in halting his laughs. "Seriously, they're cute. They're so Nana of you," he continues, fingertips tracing above the waistband once he's pushed Jaemin's sweatpants down to the middle of his thighs. 

"What does that even mean?" Jaemin mumbles, speaking more so to distract himself from the feeling of Jeno's cool fingers on the warm skin of his abdomen than out of curiosity. 

"It means they're on brand. Cute, just like you," Jeno explains shortly, crowding up into Jaemin's space a bit more. It was never really Jaemin's space to begin with, not with the way Jeno has immediately pushed him against the counter. Or with the way Jeno pays half the rent, but that was a technicality that wasn't really applicable to their current situation. 

Jeno's hands move up from where they were lingering at his waistband, easily running up his sides and under his shirt. He's familiar with Jaemin's body, in a way that normal best friends probably aren't. But Jeno had been stripping Jaemin out of his alcohol ridden clothes whenever he came home drunk for years, and has showered with him on a few occasions too. The number of times he's walked in on Jaemin changing his clothes, or vice versa, is too high to count, and it's just something which happens when living together. 

All in all, the ridges of Jaemin's ribs feel familiar under his fingertips, and the scar on his tummy from his appendix surgery reminds him of the time he had to nurse Jaemin for the next two weeks he had been bedridden for. Jaemin's abs under his palms remind him of how they work out together whenever they can, and go on bike rides when their schedules are too tight. 

Jaemin's body itself tells a story of their friendship together, and as his hands get closer to the younger's semi hard cock over his boxers, he hopes that after today, this will just be another part of their story he's reminded of when he looks at Jaemin. 

"Is this okay?" Jeno mutters, fingers lightly brushing over Jaemin's nipples. The way Jaemin bucks his hips at the sensation should be answer enough, but Jeno wants to hear Jaemin say it. "Stop me at any time," he adds, leaning in closer and softly kissing Jaemin's neck. 

The younger's breath hitches when he feels Jeno's soft lips against his skin, not used to the plushness of Jeno’s lips or the scent of Jeno's shampoo this close to him. His hair smells of blackberries and basil, and Jaemin vaguely remembers gifting Jeno said shampoo some time last year. 

He's reminded to answer Jeno's question when the older boy nips at his collarbone. 

"Y-Yeah, it's okay," he says, nodding his head slightly just in case. His voice comes out almost breathless and he doesn't remember ever having someone kiss his neck this nicely. He blames it on the fact that not everyone who kisses his neck is Jeno, and that not everyone has grown up around his body the way Jeno had. Not everyone knows his weak points and sensitive patches, not everyone can lick over his neck viens and make its pleasurable. 

But that's too much thinking for right now. His thoughts are going beyond the situation at hand, and Jaemin wills his mind to ground itself when Jeno finally gets a hand under this boxers. 

Jaemin bites his lip in order to not let out any sounds, not used to how Jeno's slim and cool fingers feel wrapped around the head of his cock. He takes deep breaths to adjust himself to the feeling, choking on a moan when Jeno's grip tightens around his entire length. 

"Let it out," Jeno grunts, still buried in his neck. His lips haven't stopped kissing along the expanse of the younger's skin, and Jaemin feels Jeno's lips move wetly. "It's no fun if you keep silent." 

Jaemin understands that, he's watched porn before, and somewhat reluctantly lets go of his lip, which had been previously caught between his teeth. 

His gut twists when Jeno digs his thumb into his head. 

Jeno feels Jaemin jerk in his hold, and the latter senses the smile which he lets out against his skin. Jeno finally pulls away from his neck, admiring his work for a moment before making eye contact with Jaemin. 

The younger's lips are a little red, cheeks flushed and eyes a bit glazed over. Jeno eyes the red marks on his neck, and he thinks is adds the last perfect bit to the picture of Jaemin panting. 

"Thanks for doing your chores," Jeno winks, sliding down onto his knees right after. 

"Oh my God," Jaemin chokes out, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight of Jeno on his knees in front of him. He doesn't know why he's so attracted to the way Jeno looks from up here, but he's mesmerized as the older boy's pulls his boxers down and strokes his cock to full hardness. "Oh my God, what the fuck." 

"I didn't do anything yet," Jeno laughs, looking up at Jaemin with those crescent moon eyes Jaemin used to endlessly compliment when he was seven years old. "Relax for me, Nana, I'm not gonna hurt you," he adds gently, smiling up at the younger boy. 

When he sees Jaemin nod from above, Jeno wastes no time in wrapping his lips around the other boy's length. 

Jaemin's immediate reaction is to jerk at the overwhelming heat and wetness, his hands flying to the countertop to keep himself balanced. He doesn't even remember the last time he's gotten his dick sucked, and as embarrassing as it is, he thinks it might not last long if Jeno keeps running his tongue over the underside of his cock. 

From beneath Jaemin, Jeno focuses on manoeuvring his mouth around his length, self satisfied when he hears all the moans and whines Jaemin is letting out. 

Jeno's sucked dick before, quite a few times, and each time he's left his partner more than satisfied. To say he was confident in his skills would be an understatement; he knows he's good at giving head. His ego is only boosted when Jaemin whines louder from above him, and he can see his best friend's thighs start to shake a little. 

"Jeno, Jeno," Jaemin pants, knuckles turning white from where they're curled around the edge of the counter top. Jeno pulls off when he hears Jaemin's calls, hands immediately working in place of his mouth. 

"What is it?" He asks, slightly breathless. He looks at Jaemin, who seems to be struggling to find the right words to say. He simply keeps moaning, squeezing his eyes shut when he catches Jeno looking up at him. "Come on Nana, spit it out."

Jaemin doesn't know what he even wanted to say when he called out Jeno's name, all he knows is that he feels like every nerve ending on his body had been doused in gasoline and then lit with a match. His skin is hot and prickly all over, and the burn of Jeno's gaze on him doesn't help at all. 

"Feels good," he ends up whining, brain muddled with thoughts only consisting of warm, wet and Jeno. And how good Jeno's mouth feels around him, but with his mind broken down with pleasure, it's more bits and pieces instead of one cohesive thought. 

"That's good," Jeno hums, ego growing at Jaemin's words. "This is your reward anyway, isn't it?" 

Jaemin whimpers, nodding his head without really registering what Jeno had said. 

Satisfied with Jaemin's reaction, Jeno quickly puts his mouth back on him, more enthusiastic this time. He's focused on bringing Jaemin to the edge, and with the way Jaemin's cries get louder from above him, he thinks he's almost there. 

Jeno more so feels than hears Jaemin's warning about coming, barely registering the other's words, and taking into account the way his moans increase in frequency and how his eye squeeze together instead. From what Jeno can see from this angle, Jaemin looks like a mess right before he's about to come, eyes screwed shut, lips bitten raw and devastating sobs leaving his mouth. 

His pride flares at being the cause of Jaemin looking like he was seconds away from falling apart beyond repair. 

And Jeno's right, because Jaemin is sobbing and spilling into his mouth not too long after, thighs convulsing violently and cock pulsing rapidly. 

"Jeno, Jeno, Jen," Jaemin gasps like a mantra, the only thing clouding his senses being Jeno, Jeno, Jeno. 

Jeno who just gave him the most mind blowing orgasm of his life. Jeno who's getting up from his possibly sore knees. Jeno who had swallowed his cum. 

Jeno who's his best friend. 

"I live up to my words, don't I?" Jeno asks once he's back in front of Jaemin again, smiling at how spaced out Jaemin looks. "Hey, you with me Nana?"

"I..." Jaemin tries to answer Jeno, but his viens are still thrumming his molten pleasure, and his heart is still beating out of his chest at the sight of Jeno. 

He doesn't know what that means. 

"My dick's getting cold," he ends up saying, earning barking laughter from Jeno. 

At least watching Jeno laugh and tuck him back into his duck boxers and pulling his pants back up feels more normal than whatever his heart decided to do when Jeno ruffled his hair before leaving. 

❀ ❀ ❀

Jaemin pushes it to the back of his mind, far enough that he doesn't think about it for the next couple days. 

Not until he sees Jeno vacuuming in the living room. 

Honestly, it's just a vacuum. It's just a vacuum and it's just Jeno, and if he were a normal person, a normal best friend, his mind wouldn't be reeling right now. But he's not, because he's Jaemin, Na Jaemin who got the suck of his life from his best friend Lee Jeno a few days ago, and now his heart is doing that thing it did in front of Jeno in the kitchen again. 

This is just one of the many reasons why Jaemin has refused to think about what went down, but that was before this scenario made itself present in his life. 

The scenario where Jaemin repays Jeno for doing his share of the chores. 

That's only fair, right? He can't just let Jeno vacuum and dust off their entire apartment spotless without doing anything, could be? Especially not after Jeno had so graciously... Rewarded him after all he did was the dishes. 

He seems to have made up his mind, and decides that watching Jeno from around the corner of the wall while he's vacuuming was creepy, so he makes his presence known as he walks into the living room. 

The floor looks cleaner than it has in... Months, if Jaemin's being disgustingly honest, and the carpets also seem brighter now that the film of dirt was removed. Jaemin admits, the apartment looks better now that it's clean, but he can't say that it's motivation enough to want to do his chores. 

As for Jeno, he's not sure he can say the same for him. 

Jeno is bobbing his head along to whatever music is blasting through his headphones, ignoring Jaemin and basically everything else around him. He dances a little in spot, and Jaemin finds an endeared smile crawling onto his face before he realizes it's happening. 

Jeno looks cute, jumping around in his morning pyjamas and vacuuming the floor. 

When Jaemin sits down on the couch, he notes how much lighter the cushions are, and how much brighter they are. Jeno must've gotten around to cleaning the couches too, and now Jaemin really can't pass up the opportunity to reward him. That just really wouldn't be fair. 

Jeno's finally finished vacuuming a few minutes later, and the apartment feels jarringly quiet without the whirring of the appliance. Jaemin listens to Jeno's music blasting from his headphones, and it's only when Jeno turns the volume down and turns around that he notices Jaemin sitting on the couch.

"Dude!" Jeno yelps, hand flying up to clutch at his heart. "Don't do that, seriously!" 

Jaemin cackles from his spot on the couch, narrowly dodging the pillow Jeno sends flying his way. 

"Go put the vacuum away, I have something to tell you," Jaemin saga, gesturing his head towards the machine. He hopes his voice didn't convey his nervous he was about this, and he doesn't think it did, with the way Jeno simply nods and does as he says. 

Jeno had been... Ridiculously confident when he went down on Jaemin, and the latter wishes he had even a fraction of that confidence. He also wasn't nearly as experienced as Jeno, as much as that shouldn't matter. But Jeno himself had said that he knows his blowjob skills were top tier, but Jaemin couldn't say the same about himself. 

He could probably count the amount of times he's given head on one hand, and he doesn't remember having his partners praise him to the point where he's boasting about his skill set, unlike Jeno. 

"What's up?" 

Jeno's voice snaps him out of his reveries, and he's quick to clear his throat and mind. 

"I'm gonna blow you."

Honest to God, Jeno starts laughing. 

"Jaemin," Jeno manages to get out, calming himself down a bit. Jaemin still doesn't like how he outright cackled at him before saying anything, but he's forced to listen to what Jeno has to say with the way the older boy is holding onto his hands. "Oh, you sweet boy. You don't have to do anything," he coos, and although it sounds mocking, and like Jeno is making fun of him, Jaemin knows it's anything but. 

He's used to Jeno hiding his genuineness behind humour and smiles, so he knows Jeno means it when he says he doesn't have to do a thing. The 'sweet thing' part though? He's not too sure what that means yet. 

"But it's not fair," Jaemin insists, looking past the smile that's still on Jeno's face. "You cleaned the couches, the carpets, and the floor! All I did was a measly three days' worth of dishes but you still gave me the best—" 

Jaemin cuts himself off before he can embarrass himself more than necessary. As if justifying why he's willing to give his best friend head isn't mortifying enough, admitting that your best friend gave you the best orgasm of your life is even more horrendous. 

"Gave you what, huh?" Jeno asks cockily, and that irritation Jeno always seems to set simmering inside of Jaemin flames up again. "What'd I give you, hm Nana?" He teases, he probes, and Jaemin knows he'll poke until he gets an answer. 

He doesn't know how he's put up with Jeno for all these years, when this was his personality. Maybe it's because somewhere underneath the surface, somewhere Jaemin didn't lurk very often, the fondness he feels when he sees Jeno sleepily make eggs in the morning runs deeper than he thought. Maybe it's because the annoyance he feels when Jeno stays up all night playing video games runs deeper than he thought. 

Whatever it is, Jaemin guesses he's now a Jeno expert, having learned every corner and crevice there is to Jeno. 

Which is why he also knows how to have his way without having to answer Jeno's question. 

"Dotori," Jaemin sighs, smiling sweetly at Jeno when the older boy's eyes widen at the endearment. Jaemin hasn't called Jeno that in ages, seeing as it had been a nickname he developed for him in middle school. It seemed stupid, to say it when they were twenty one, but that was before Jaemin reminisced on the way Jeno's eyes would light up every time he called him by this name. 

Just like they are now. 

"Are you saying no to me?" Jaemin asks with a pout, making sure to widen his eyes the way he knows Jeno likes. The only reason he has this knowledge is because he'd once borrowed Jeno's laptop and had opened it up on a hentai site, quickly catching onto Jeno's preferences after being scandalized by the sight. Sure, he's traumatized, but he the upper hand right now so he can't really complain. 

When Jeno doesn't answer, Jaemin probes at him some more. 

"I just wanna be good and say thank you," Jaemin says lowly, tone almost as delicate as the atmosphere between them. He doesn't want to shatter the fragile feeling around them, seeing as the tension seems to have Jeno drawn into whatever game Jaemin was playing. "You worked hard this morning." 

Jaemin can literally see the shift in Jeno's eyes after he says that, can see the way they darken a little bit. The smirk is back onto his face, replacing the look of shock, and Jaemin finds himself liking the former more than the latter. 

But he won't think about that for now. 

"Hm, I did do more than you, didn't I?" Jeno asks softly, eyes never breaking contact with Jaemin's. Jeno's hands are still holding onto Jaemin's, and their knees are touching from where they're sitting in front of each on the couch. 

Jaemin nods at Jeno's question, and it's then that the latter breaks eye contact, eyes fleeting down to the fading purples and reds of the hickeys Jeno had left a few days ago. Jaemin doesn't know why he flushes under Jeno's intense gaze, especially because he's the one who's supposed to have the upper hand, but when Jeno runs his thumb over his knuckles, it isn't unwelcome. 

Nor is it unwelcome when Jeno nods his head, giving Jaemin the go. Or when Jeno helps him onto his knees in front of the couch, when Jeno spreads his legs open enough to accommodate Jaemin between them. 

Jaemin really, really doesn't know what any of that means. He doesn't know why his heart flutters a bit when Jeno runs a few fingers through his hair before he starts, or why knowing that Jeno's eyes are on him sends a wash of warmth over his body. Or why he loves the way Jeno is patient with how slowly Jaemin retrieves his cock from his boxers, or why he's drawn to Jeno's size, half hard in his hands. 

But he won't think about that now. 

For now, he has to think about how he's going to give Jeno head so good, he won't be able to shut up about it. Easier said than done, given how Jaemin hasn't done this in a very long time. 

Jeno seems to catch onto that fact. 

"Suck the tip," he instructs softly, encouraging Jaemin with a small nod when he notices him looking back and forth between Jeno's face, and Jeno's length held up in his hands. 

Jeno thinks it's cute, but then again, he's always found Jaemin to be cute. Maybe now isn't the best time to think about all the instances he's found Jaemin cute in all the time he's known him, not when said boy is closing his slightly chapped lips around the tip of his cock with apprehension, eyes fluttered shut and cheeks pink. 

Or maybe it is appropriate, because ignoring the context, Jaemin looks so incredibly cute. So cute, kneeling between his legs with his eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed, getting used to the weight on his tongue and taste in his mouth. 

"Can you take more Nana?" Jeno sighs out in pleasure after a few minutes of Jaemin getting comfortable. 

Jaemin looks up at him from under his eyelashes, and Jeno has to bite back the groan that wants to rip itself out of his throat. The younger nods, sliding his lips down to cover more of Jeno's length, stopping about halfway down. He uses his hands on the rest, bobbing his head up and down, encouraged by the sounds Jeno is letting out above him. Deep moans and pleasurable sighs make Jaemin work harder, make Jaemin want to make Jeno feel even better. 

Jaemin does the thing with his tongue that he somewhat recalls Jeno doing with him, and is elated when it results in Jeno thrusting his hips up into his mouth. Sure, it stings and Jaemin wasn't really prepared for it, but he liked it, for some reason. 

"Sorry," Jeno rasps out, registering what he's just done. He looks down at Jaemin again, only to find that he's already looking at him. 

Before Jeno can apologize again, Jaemin is pulling off of his cock, hands stroking up while he catches his breath. Jeno thinks he looks pretty like this, lips red and swollen, eyes hazy and bangs falling into them. Jaemin's tiny hands look adorable wrapped around his cock, and Jeno might enjoy the sight of them more than he'd like to admit. 

"D-Do it again," Jaemin says, determined with the way he looks at Jeno. He makes sure to hold eye contact, to help Jeno know that he means it, and that this is what he wants. "Fuck my mouth." 

Jeno groans at what Jaemin says, one of his hands instinctively going down to grip at his hair. He never thought he'd find himself in the scenario where his best friend is asking him to fuck his mouth, but he wouldn't lie and say he hadn't thought about it. 

Jaemin's been the main character of his wet dreams for more years than he'd like to admit, and at first he didn't know what the hell it meant. After moving in together and having to watch Jaemin prance around the apartment in nothing but an oversized t-shirt, it started making more sense. 

But he pushes that to the back of his mind for now, instead putting all his attention on Jaemin, who's looking up at him with doe like eyes. There's a hint of desperation in them if Jeno looks close enough, and he almost doesn't want to admit that it's there. He doesn't know what it'll mean if it is really there. 

"Are you sure?" Jeno asks after what feels like an eternity. There's no doubt in his mind that he wants to, God he wants to, but he needs to make sure that Jaemin is one hundred okay with it. This is his best friend after all, the last thing Jeno would ever want to do is hurt Jaemin. 

"Yes," the younger answers, a little whine in his tone. His hands haven't stopped moving up and down his cock, but they do now. Jaemin sticks his tongue out and licks around the head, keeping eye contact with Jeno the entire time. 

It's the lewdest Jeno has ever seen Jaemin, this is an image not even his wildest wet dreams could've conjured up. 

Jaemin snaps the final string when he moans breathily, lightly slapping Jeno's length against his tongue. 

"Please, please just fuck your cock down my throat," he whines, eyes practically pleading, and honestly, how can Jeno say no to that? 

Jaemin doesn't know what the hell washed over him when he first got Jeno's cock in his mouth, but the only thing he can think of now is Jeno. The latter is consuming his senses and rationale, the only thing he can see is Jeno, the only thing he can smell is Jeno, only thing he can taste, only thing he can hear. 

Jeno, Jeno, Jeno. 

Destructive thoughts which lead to Jaemin wanting to repay Jeno for doing his chores turned to Jaemin wanting Jeno to ruin his throat, because that's what got him excited, isn't it? God, this was supposed to be Jeno's compensation but Jaemin would be lying if he said he wasn't getting off on it too. On the way Jeno sounds, letting Jaemin know he's doing something right. The way Jeno looks down at him like he's the only thing on his mind, egging Jaemin on. 

He's crazy, he thinks to himself, crazy for almost begging Jeno to do his worst, crazy for asking for such a thing, crazy when his dick strains against the confinements of his pants. 

Crazy, crazy, crazy. 

Jaemin is so crazy for Jeno. 

"You should keep that dirty mouth of yours shut," Jeno grunts, gripping onto Jaemin's hair, pulling his head forward and down his whole length. "I'll help with that."

Jaemin gags around Jeno's cock, and it sounds wet and gross, and he can't breathe properly, but all the sensations make his mind heady, and he finds himself loving how his viens buzz with pleasure and warmth. There's only Jeno floating around his brain, only him pushing farther and farther into Jaemin's throat, making him choke on his cock. 

And Jaemin likes it. Likes the burn, the struggle, and the heavy feeling in his mouth. 

Likes it more than he'd ever want to admit. 

Jeno pulls Jaemin off halfway, just far enough to let him breathe. His cheeks are an impossibly dark shade of pink, and his hair is messed from where Jeno has his fingers gripped onto the strands. When Jaemin looks up at him, his eyes are teary and his eyelashes are clumped together, and Jeno honestly doesn't think his best friend has ever better than he does right now. 

Jeno can only groan, at a loss of words from how stunning Jaemin looks like this, pushing the younger back down onto his length completely. He's already nearing the edge of his orgasm, and it was inevitable to finish quickly, if he's being honest, with how tight, wet and warm Jaemin's throat constricts around him. 

The wet sounds of Jeno shallowly thrusting in and out of Jaemin's mouth fill the air around them, and the gagging sounds and whimpers Jaemin lets out fuels the fire burning in his gut. 

There's a method to Jaemin, Jeno concludes when he sees tears fall down Jaemin's cheeks. He does what he does out of the good of his heart, but at the end of the day, he's a people pleaser. All he wants to do is make the people around him happy. It is admirable, Jeno has always thought so, but right now, coming down Jaemin's throat after he had begged for his cock to fuck his throat, Jeno thinks it's a little bit more than just admirable. 

It's maddening. 

It's Jaemin's method to his madness. 

Jaemin is moaning around Jeno's softening cock, struggling to swallow his load. He had kept his eyes shut majority of the time, knowing that once he looks up at Jeno staring down at him like that, he'd lose his mind. But right now, as he finally opens his eyes after a while, the sight is even more arousing. 

Jeno, with his head thrown back and face scrunched up in pleasure. With his bottom lip between his teeth and chest erratically heaving up and down. It's a sight, almost art if Jaemin is being honest, and he wants to never forget the look of pure bliss on Jeno's face, courtesy of him. 

When Jeno finally comes to, he's still regulating his breathing, but now he's looking down at Jaemin. Looking down at the wide, wet eyes staring at him, at the ruddy cheeks and the disheveled hair. At everything he created. At everything Jaemin wanted. 

Jeno silently pulls his now soft cock out of, what he assumes is, Jaemin's aching jaw, catching a little drop of cum from the corner of his lips. Wordlessly, Jaemin's tongue comes out to swipe at his finger, collecting the droplet into his mouth and swallowing. 

Jaemin blushes when he realizes what he's done. 

"Thanks for vacuuming," Jaemin manages to rasp out, voice destroyed and throat on fire when he tries to talk. He knows he's going to feel the soreness of Jeno's cock for days after this, but he can't find it in himself to complain. 

Every time he'll open his mouth, it'll be a reminder is what Jeno had done to him. It'll be a reminder that he didn't want anything more than for Jeno to use him, it'll remind him that he wanted Jeno to ruin him. 

The implications, behind all those thoughts, Jaemin doesn't know what they mean. 

All he knows, is that he's beyond excited to do the laundry, for once. 

❀ ❀ ❀

Weeks go on like this, with Jeno and Jaemin taking turns completing their assigned chore tasks, which are always followed by... A reward, without a miss. It seems to be an agreement that works for them, something that Jaemin finds eventually does motivate him to do the dishes and to do their laundry. 

Don't get Jaemin wrong, he still hates doing chores with every fibre of his being, and lazing around all day always seemed like the better option, but Jeno's mouth and hands (which work just as magically as his mouth), are worth the suffering of completing such mundane tasks. 

And maybe, just maybe, he likes the way Jeno looks at him when he's on his knees, and maybe, just maybe, he likes how gentle Jeno is with his touches when handling his body. 

But that's all a maybe, and for now, Jaemin doesn't want to think about it. For now, he'll do the laundry in peace, while Jeno is at class. There's no distractions, there's no miscellaneous sounds coming from Jeno's video games. It's not always that there's peace and silence through their apartment, but Jaemin doesn't mind it every once in a while. 

Jaemin's just about done the folding the first load of laundry when his phone vibrates with a text. 

He thinks that it might be Jeno, that he may be asking if he should pick up dinner. Or maybe he’s bored in his lecture and wanted Jaemin to distract him. Or maybe it was Jeno sending him a picture of a cute cat he found on the street. 

Anyway, Jaemin expects to see Jeno’s name on his lock screen, and the smile falls off of his face when he sees that it’s not. 

Instead, it’s his brother’s name. 

The previous feeling of giddiness is replaced by a feeling of dread, and while also dampening his mood, makes him question why he was so excited to receive a text from Jeno in the first place. 

Sighing, Jaemin unlocks his phone and opens the message from his brother. He doesn’t know why he anticipated that maybe this time reading his brother’s word wouldn’t make a pit form in his stomach, especially when he knows it only sets him up for heartbreak. 

Which is exactly what happens, as he reads the words in the chat bubble. 

Jaemin doesn’t necessarily have a bad relationship with his brother, Yuta was an angel. He was the most lovely brother while he’d been living at home, and Jaemin truly is grateful to have him in his life. 

It’s just that, ever since Jaemin’s parents had divorced when he was eight, their father had taken Yuta with him, and Jaemin had chosen himself to stay with their mother. At first, it was hard coping with the fact that he wouldn’t be seeing Yuta anymore, especially at such a young age. Obviously, with time Jaemin had learned the consequences of the way they’ve grown up, but eight year old Jaemin didn’t know much besides the fact that he loved his mother more then anyone else. 

Jaemin understands where Yuta’s offhanded comments come from, understands why Yuta is the way that he is. It’s the same reason why he’s the way he is; Jaemin is a spitting copy of their mother. For years, he’d been raised by her alone, which had lead to his mother’s character traits and bits of her personality implementing themselves into himself. Not that he’s complaining; his mother is the sweetest woman on the planet. 

But it’s the same reasoning towards why Yuta and Jaemin dont see eye to eye anymore; Yuta is like their father. Since he’d been raised by their father alone starting from the age of thirteen, he was still impressionable and had picked up on all their father’s little antics and mannerisms. It wouldn’t have been a problem if Jaemin wasn’t a spitting copy of their mother, and Yuta wasn’t a spitting copy of their father. 

None of them have a bad relationships with each other, but none of their relationships are ideal either. 

Which is why Jaemin understands why he and Yuta have this awkward tension floating around them when they’re around each other, which even manages to transfer into their text conversations too. It’s the same tension that had driven their parents away from each other. Despite all that though, Jaemin knows that Yuta loves him, and Jaemin loves Yuta back just as much. 

It’s just a shame that their relationship couldn’t live up to its potential. 

Knowing all this, however, doesn’t make reading text messages from Yuta any easier. The words of sarcasm which poke fun at his insecurities, the jokes which shouldn’t be classified as jokes because they hurt, and the backhanded comments about things that aren’t even Yuta’s business. 

He knows his brother only has pure intentions. And he knows that he only continues to talk to Jaemin this way because he didn’t tell Yuta it bothered him, and he couldn’t expect him to just know. 

They’re not that close anymore. 

He knows all this, but his heart still sinks at Yuta’s attempt to start a conversation; a joke targeting if he was still a mama’s boy or not. 

It was a running laugh between Yuta and their father, how Jaemin was attached to his mother’s hip when he was younger, only realizing that he had to start becoming independent when he was fifteen. He never looked at it as a bad thing, he just loved his mother more then anyone else on the planet, and he wanted her to know that every single second of the day, without a miss. 

As he grew older, however, Yuta has always poked fun at how he had relied too much on the mother for far too long into his teenage years, building a pit on insecurity in his heart. He didn’t want to believe that he wasn’t capable of being independent, or that he needed someone to lean onto when he couldn’t handle things. But after hearing the constant jabs from his father and Yuta, and what people generally say about mama’s boys, he couldn’t help but underestimate just how self driven he was. 

Somewhere deep down, he knows that he’s grown out of looking in his mother’s direction whenever he was lost, he knows that he now deals with his problems alone, like the adult he is. Somewhere closer to the surface though, he questions if he’s capable of going anywhere in life without a constant presence next to him, if it’s possible for him to achieve anything without the help of someone else. 

It’s because of these thoughts that he doesn’t register the front door opening, nor the sound of the dryer beeping, signifying the end of the cycle. His focus is trained of trying to have a conversation with Yuta, trying to have a normal conversation. His brother is nice, truly, but he’s just... Clueless. And it isn’t his fault, Jaemin knows that much. Yuta’s the classic case of nature versus nurture, specifically, a victim of nature. 

“Hey.”

Jeno’s voice rips out of the trance he was in, finally looking up from his phone screen and acknowledging the end of the dryer cycle, and Jeno’s presence in their apartment. 

“Hi,” Jaemin greets, smiling a little bit. He’s not aware of it, but Jeno notices the way his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. 

That simple fact immediately lets Jeno know something’s wrong, and his hunch is only strengthened when he sees Jaemin turn back to typing on his phone, with a frown marring his gorgeous face.

Jaemin’s gorgeous face, which doesn’t suit the downturn of his pretty lips. Doesn’t suit the furrow between his eyebrows, doesn’t suit the hallow look in his eyes. 

“Are you talking to someone?” He asks, walking deeper into the little laundry room. He knows better, already knows that Jaemin is talking to someone. He already has an idea towards who, but he doesn’t want to assume anything, and wants to let Jaemin speak for himself. 

“Yeah,” the younger boy absently answers, sighing a few seconds later. He puts his phone down on the laundry machine after, and Jeno briefly notices how he’s turned the device off. He also notices the way Jaemin’s shoulders are hunched, something that happens when he’s exhausted, both emotionally and physically. 

Jeno can only assume it’s the former case right now. 

“Yuta?” He guesses, although he think they both know it’s not a guess. It’s more asking for confirmation, but Jaemin still appreciates the effort. 

Jeno isn’t particularly fond of Yuta, despite not having a valid opinion or stance in Jaemin’s relationship with his brother. That doesn’t mean that he can’t hold a bit of distaste towards the older male, though. Jeno’s allowed to not like Yuta because of the way he subconsciously worsens Jaemin’s insecurities, and he’s safe as long as he keeps majority of those thoughts to himself. It had only been on one occasion where he had accidentally let it slip to Jaemin that he didn’t really like the way Yuta spoke to him, but he’d kept it pretty tame after that. He didn’t want a repeat of that argument with Jaemin; the one where he defended his brother’s actions. Maybe Jeno wasn’t the best person to have a say on the matter, but he’d rather keep shut than emotionally rile Jaemin up that much again. 

Jaemin doesn’t verbally answer Jeno in present time, he simply nods his head curtly. He’s aware that Jeno’s disliking towards Yuta hadn’t disappeared after that one argument, but he appreciates how Jeno doesn’t probe the topic further. 

“Laundry, huh?” He asks instead, coming up behind Jaemin, who had turned back to folding their clothes. He perches his chin onto the younger’s shoulder, arms coming around his waist out of habit. He’s done this exact thing countless times, and feeling Jaemin’s back pressed against his chest brings him a familiar feeling of warmth and... A semblance of home. 

“Hm, what about it?” Jaemin questions back, tone lilting with a tease. Jeno finds the familiar lilt assuring, but he knows that beneath the surface, doesn’t feel the best after whatever conversation he’s had with Yuta. Jeno doesn’t need to know the details to know that it must’ve done a number on Jaemin’s heart. 

But he’s more than glad to help Jaemin realize that he was just overthinking things. 

Jeno has grown up with Jaemin, he’s seen the younger boy fall apart, pick himself up, and build himself into the person he is today. And he did it all alone, and Jeno didn’t want anyone discrediting what Jaemin had achieved by himself. 

“What, exactly, about it?” Jeno counters, lips trailing a familiar path to a patch of skin under Jaemin’s jaw. He doesn’t waste any time before nipping at the skin, painting over faded purpled with fresh hues. “Were you expecting something?”

It’s a dirty game, that Jeno likes playing with Jaemin. Rhetorical questions and teasing remakes, harsh teeth and bruising fingers. But it’s something they’ve both grown a liking towards, and when Jaemin lolls his head to the side to give Jeno access to more skin, Jeno knows he has the lead. 

“Yeah,” Jaemin sighs, fingers curling into the fabric of a t-shirt he was folding. The task is long forgotten, Jaemin now focused on how good Jeno’s tongue feels against newly sucked bruises. “Reward,” he whines, squirming a little in Jeno’s hold. He’s between the older boy’s body and the dryer machine, already feeling the air in the small space around them thicken with tension and warmth. 

It never takes long for Jeno to set the atmosphere for the both of them, but it takes an even shorter time when Jaemin is equally as eager. Through the weeks they’ve been cleaning up the apartment together, Jaemin’s grown past the initial apprehension and embarrassment that comes with Jeno touching his dick, especially when he realized that it’s just that. Just Jeno touching his dick. Just Jeno, his best friend, who Jaemin wholly trusts with his life. His dick was small compared to his life, so it quickly became a no brainer for Jaemin to not hesitate to trust Jeno with him. 

“You want a reward?” Jeno hums, moving his hands lower, past Jaemin’s waist and onto his hips. When Jaemin nods, Jeno coos. “My bunny wants a reward.”

“Your bunny?” Jaemin questions, gasping lightly when Jeno’s fingers ghost over the semi bulge of his cock over his shorts. 

Jeno tenses for a fourth of a second when he realizes he let the endearment slip, but it quickly washes over him when Jaemin thrusts his hips gently into the palm hovering over his crotch. 

“Yeah, yeah your bunny,” Jaemin nods, answering his own question. Jeno understands that he seems to like the term, if the way his cheeks immediately flush and the little upturn of the corner of his lips is anything to go by. And the little whine in the younger’s voice, but Jaemin whines as a default nowadays so Jeno guesses it’s just natural at this point. 

Jeno smiles into Jaemin’s neck, he likes the sound of Jaemin being his bunny. 

Jeno’s little bun.

He’s softer, with the sudden surge of warm emotions which consume his system, and he’s delicate as he pushes down the waistband of Jaemin’s shorts and boxers. Jaemin whimpers when Jeno’s cold palm makes contact with his warm skin, and he should honestly be used to the sensation, with his cold Jeno’s hands always are. But it’s a sudden rush of surprise every time, and he loves it. 

The shirt in Jaemin’s grasp is longer forgotten, fingers now digging into the flesh of Jeno’s forearms around him. Jeno doesn’t have to do much to have Jaemin hard and leaning, anticipating and aroused, because Jaemin’s body is sensitive, and Jeno has mastered its ins and outs within a few weeks. 

“Jeno, Jeno,” Jaemin sighs, twitching in Jeno’s hand when the latter wraps a loose fist around him. 

Jeno has noticed that Jaemin takes a liking to saying his name a lot, and he finds it cuter than anything else. As if he was constantly on Jaemin’s mind, or letting Jeno know he was thinking about him, or that Jeno was the reason for what Jaemin looked like, or was saying. 

Whatever the reason, Jeno finds it adorable. 

“Nana, Nana,” Jeno smiles back, nuzzling his nose into Jaemin’s cheek. The action earns him a giggle from the younger boy, something which makes Jeno’s heart melt. 

Over the years, he’s heard Jaemin’s giggle hundreds of thousands of times. But it wasn’t until recently that he acknowledged how his heart swooned at the sound, or how it felt like all the scrambled pieces came together in his soul. It may sound overdramatized, but Jaemin makes Jeno feel things that are too big to handle, so he guesses it’s fitting. 

“Jen,” Jaemin calls, breathy and soft, and everything that makes Jeno feels like this is it. 

“Jaem,” he replies, pressing a feather light kiss to Jaemin’s cheek. He likes kissing Jaemin’s face, he likes the warmth of the flushed skin underneath his lips, like i feel the heat radiate from his face. 

He likes a lot of things about Jaemin. 

He likes Jaemin. 

“You know how cute you are?” Jeno asks, right into Jaemin’s ear. He knows Jaemin likes the way his voice sounds right up close, likes it even more when he can feel Jeno’s chest rumbling when he speaks. “You know how crazy you make me, bun?” 

Jaemin shakes his head around a whimper as his response, canting his hips into Jeno’s palm mindlessly. The desperation is what makes Jeno’s tighten his fist, swiping his thumb over the head and collecting precome as lubricant. And maybe he wanted to indulge in Jaemin more tonight, giving him everything he could to make the little hole, which must still be in his heart, fill up with assurance. 

“You don’t know? You don’t know how breathtaking you look with your wide eyes? How adorable you look with you hair in your eyes? How pretty you look when your eyelashes fan out?” Jeno can feel more than hear Jaemin’s breath pick up, so he times his strokes appropriately with the timing of Jaemin’s breathing. “You have to know, bunny, you gotta know you precious you are.” 

The last part is whispered into the fragile air between them, is sweet as the words leave his tongue. 

Jaemin heart is beating at a rate he didn’t know was achievable, and it feels like it could burst out of his chest at any given moment. Jeno’s words usually have an effect on him, but this time it’s different. It’s different in the way Jeno pours sincerity into every syllable, different in the way Jaemin accepts the sugar sweet words wholeheartedly. 

And it feels good, knowing that to someone, this is what he’s seen as. This is what he means to someone, and the fact that that someone is Jeno just makes a bit more meaningful to Jaemin. 

“Precious?” Jaemin chokes out between moans, warmth flooding through his viens when Jeno nods and kisses his temple. He’s grown to love the feeling of Jeno’s lips against his skin, whether it be his thighs, cheeks or forehead. It’s familiar, and if fixes something inside of him that he didn’t even know existed. Every time Jeno kisses him, it feels like he’s meant to do so. 

“So precious,” Jeno hums, quickening his fist. “So perfect and so beautiful. You’re the best person I know, Na Jaemin. You heart bleeds gold, and you even make me want to be a better person.” Jeno doesn’t know if this was the right situation to spew sap into Jaemin’s ears, but he can’t help himself. The honest words slip past his lips before he has a chance to run them through his mind, and maybe he doesn’t really mind if Jaemin gets to hear them. 

He deserves to know he’s special, after all. 

“Jeno,” Jaemin cries, overwhelmed by the sweetness of what Jeno had said. Jeno’s fist stroking up and down his cock should’ve been the most prominent sensation coursing through his body, but all his system is flooded with is the heartwarming rush from Jeno’s words. Jaemin doesn’t know whether it’s all a ‘in the moment’ type of speech, or if it’s how Jeno truly feels, but that doesn’t matter to him in his muddled brain. The only thing that matters is that Jeno is breaking him down in the sweetest way. 

“My bunny,” Jeno murmurs, kissing the stray tears which have managed to slip past Jaemin’s eyes and down his cheeks, now screwed shut. “My sweet little thing crying because he’s so loved.” 

Jeno doesn’t even acknowledge how he’s let the word slip past his lips, not when Jaemin chokes on an sob and shakes his head. Not when he’s enamoured by the feeling of Jaemin digging his nails into his forearms, by the way Jaemin is jerking his hips and coming into his hand. 

“My Jeno, my Jeno, my Jen,” Jaemin rambles through his orgasm, gasping between words here and there. 

Jeno’s hand finally stops moving after he’s drawn out Jaemin’s aftershocks, but he can still feel how ragged the younger’s breathing is through his back. 

“Your Jeno?” He finds himself asking in a mumble after silence washes over them, not removing his arms from around the younger, not moving his chin from his shoulder. 

And he’s glad he didn’t, because Jaemin’s nails aren’t digging into his skin anymore, instead, his hands slowly make their way to hold onto Jeno’s hands. Unsurprisingly, they lace together easily, like puzzle pieces, like halves of a whole. 

“Yeah,” Jaemin whispers, smiling down at the sight of their hands intertwined. The sight sets a fire rumbling low in his chest. “My Jeno. My dotori. My Jenjen. Mine.”

Jeno squeezes his fingers tighter. 

“My bunny. My Nana. My sweet thing, my Na Jaemin.” 

Jeno had already tucked Jaemin back into his pants, which the latter is grateful for as he turns around in the older boy’s arms. He easily finds Jeno’s eyes, already looking into his own. 

Jaemin is elated when he sees the adoration swimming in the other’s eyes. 

There’s no denying, that his probably look the same. 

“Wanna be yours, dotori,” Jaemin whispers, looping his arms around Jeno’s neck. He can’t find it in himself to be nervous, speaking his mind, because it’s Jeno in front of him. His best friend. And nothing goes wrong when it’s Jeno and him. 

“Yeah?” Jeno asks, bemused as he stares at Jaemin’s glowing expression. 

Jaemin’s eyes sparkle. 

Jeno may seems collected on the outside, but his heart is soaring in his chest. Maybe he should be used to Jaemin making his heart soar, but he guesses that’s another thing to like about Jaemin; it’s never dull, around him. 

“Be mine?” Jaemin mumbles, bringing his face closer to Jeno’s. His eyes are fluttered shut, and his lips are parted, and Jeno finds the words slipping over his tongue before he can process it. 

“I’ve always been yours, Nana. From the beginning, you were the squirrel, and I was the acorn.” 

Jaemin huffs out a smile, Jeno can feel it when their lips press together. 

Can feel it as he tries to think around the fireworks exploding in this chest, can feel the upturn of lips as he to think around the butterflies in his stomach. 

It’s all cliché and disgusting, all mushy and soft, but Jeno’s always wanted a cliché with Jaemin. Always wanted to hold him under the stars and compare to the moon. 

It’s a soft kiss, their first kiss, an exchange of feeling, of everything unspoken felt between the two of them. A connection that runs deeper than the past weeks they’ve spent closer than ever, a story which starts before they moved in together. 

Jeno thumbs on the apples of Jaemin’s cheeks, rubbing circles onto the skin. Jeno’s heart in his kisses, conveying a message he couldn’t put into words. 

Jaemin’s understanding in his mouth, letting Jeno know he’s revived his message. 

When Jeno pulls away, he’s smiling the smile that Jaemin fell for the first time he saw it. 

“Thanks for doing the laundry,” He laughs, eyes crinkling into crescents, heart pounding in his chest. 

Jaemin’s smile in return in a bit softer. 

His hands come up to cup Jeno’s face, his lips come close to kiss Jeno’s forehead. 

His heart comes out to let Jeno in. 

“Thank you for being you, my Jeno.”


End file.
